Safety control for multiple ironing machines



J. H. LEEF April 14, 1953' SAFETY CONTROL FOR MULTIPLE IRONINC MACHINES Filed Sept. 27, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet l April 14, 1953 J. H. LEEF 2,634,522

SAFETY CONTROL FOR MULTIPLE IRONING MACHINES Filed Sept. 27, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 4, 1953 J. H. LEEF 2,634,522

SAFETY CONTROL FOR MULTIPLE IRONING MACHINES Filed Sept. 27, 1948 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 i /7/ j 60 I 69 I jizamfai" 170%); flzf i I Patented Apr. 14, 1953 SAFETY CONTROL Foa MULTIPLE IRONING MACHINES John H. Leef, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application September 27, 1948, Serial No. 51,430

3 Claims. 1

I My invention relates to safety devices for garment ironers of the type having relatively fixed and relatively movable jaw-actingironing or pressing shoes. More particularly, my present invention is adapted to be utilized in conjunction' with multiple ironers of the above type which are mounted on a turntable, whereby a number of such devices may be loaded and unloaded by a single operator positioned in an operators station closely adjacent the track upon which the turntable rotates. Such an ironing structure and the operating and heating conduits therefor are fully shown in my copending application S. N. 24,571, filed May 1, 1948, now Patent No. 2,556,477, issued June 12, 1951, and entitled Multiple Ironing Machine.

One important object of my invention is the provision of means responsive to movement of said ironers upon the track upon which they are mounted for sweeping the space between the relatively fixed and relatively movable pressing shoes to thereby remove hands and arms of the operator immediately after the ironers are moved away from the operators station but immediately prior to the positioning of said shoes in a closed garment-pressing position.

Another object of my invention is the provision of still further means for positively insuring that the hands or fingertips of the operator (which may have escaped the sweep) are removed from said ironers prior to closing movements of the shoes thereof.

"A still further highly important object of my invention is the provision of means for positively stopping the movement of the ironers upon the "track in the event that both of the aboveoutlined safety devices become inoperative or ineffective and the arms or other portions of the body of the operator become locked between the jaws of the pressing machine.

'A still further object of my invention is the provision of devices of the type immediately above-described which are relatively foolproof in operation, durable in use, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

The" above and still further objects and advanta'ges of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed specification, appended claims, and attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like characters. indicate like parts throughout the several views: T

Fig. 1 is a top plan View of a multiple ironing structure incorporating my novel invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section, taken substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1;'

Fig. "3 is a. still further enlarged view,partly 2 in plan and partly in section, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in rear elevation and partly in section, taken on the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail partly in plan and.

partly in horizontal section, taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 2, some parts being broken away;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail in side elevation taken substantially on the line 66 of Fig. 2, some parts being broken away;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation as seen from the line 'I-l of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary detail, partly in side elevation and partly in section, taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 9 is a, wiring diagram illustrating the electrical hook-up of my device.

Referring with greater particularity to the drawings, the numeral I indicates, in its entirety, a turntable comprising an annular supporting plate 2 secured to a concentric annular hub 3 by means of a plurality of radial arms 4. The plate 2 is reinforced by concentric annular flanges 5 and 6 which depend therefrom at the inner and outer circumferential edges respectively. Depending spaced flanges I form bearing brackets journalling wheels 8 for rotation upon an endless track 9.

Mounted fast on the annular supporting plate 2 is a plurality of circumferentially-spaced pressing or ironing devices I0 each having a relatively stationary pressing shoe I I and a relatively movable pressing shoe I2. As shown in Fig. 2, the

fixed shoes I I are mounted on circumferentiallyarms I4 are pivotally secured to the outer ends of plunger rods 16, as indicated at H. Each plunger rod has a piston I8 which operates within a cylinder It by means of fiuid pressure forced thereinto and allowed to escape therefrom through any suitable means such as a conduit 20 connected to a conventional three-way valve 2|.

Axcoil compression spring 22 interposed between the piston I8 and one end of the cylinder I9 biases the piston I8 and shoe I2 in a direction to effect ironing pressure between the shoe I2 and the relatively fixed shoe II.

therelativelymovableshoe I2 away from the relatively fixed shoe II. Fluid under pressure is lu under e s re; admitted to the cylinder I9-through the conduit 20 moves the piston I8 in a direction to remove V spectto and as shown by arrows in Fig. l, I

Asabove indicated, my present invention readmitted to each of the three-way valves 2| from a source not shown through a radiallyextended conduit or pipe 23, a circumferentiallyextended pipe 2d connected thereto, and relatively short pipes 25 connecting the circumferentially-extended pipe 24 with each of the threeway valves 2!.

The valves 2! are each'provided :with an arm 26 that is connected toone end ofa respective lever 21 by means of a link 28. Each of the levers 21 are pivotally secured intermediate their ends to brackets 29 rigidly secured to the undersurf-ace of the annular plate 2. Atits other end, each of the levers 21 has journalled thereto a roller 35 which normally engages the floor or groundbe neath the turntable I. The roller Silisadapted to engage and roll over a circumferentially-extended cam track 3! which is located adjacent an operators platform orstation 32. It may be assumed that, when the roller -33 engages the ground or floor below the'turntable 1, the threeway-valve 2i ispositioned to connect the interior of-thecylinder 19 to atmosphere, whereby to perthe spring 22 to move the relatively movable shoerinto closed pressing engagement with the relatively. fixed shoe 1 l. When the roller 33 rides upon thecam track 3 I, the valve 2| is positioned to admit fluid under pressure through the conduitzfl to the interiorzof the cylinder I9, whereby to movethe shoe !2 away from engagement with'the relatively fixed shoe H, as indicated in Fig. 2. Thus, it will be seen, that, as :each ironer Hi approaches the operators station 32, the shoes I I and i 2 thereof will be moved to their open position so that'an ironed garment may be moved therefrom and agarment to be ironed applied thereto. Upon leaving the operators station32, the movable shoe I2 of each ironer ID will be moved to pressing engagement with the relatively fixed shoe H thereof.

Heat is supplied to the relatively fixed pressing shoes I i from a source not shown through a supply pipe 33 and a central manifold 34, the heating medium preferably beingdry steam. Inlet conduits 35 extend from the manifold 34 to the pressing shoes I l and condensate return conduits 36 extend from the relatively fixed shoes I to a portion of the manifold 34 which is connected to a return .pipe or conduit not shown. It will be understood, of course, that the relatively movable shoes 12 may be heated in the same .manner astherelatively fixed shoes i I.

The turntable I is rotated at a relatively low speed :by a motor 31 (see Fig. 1) which drives a I shaft 33 through speed-reducing connections not shown but contained within a gear box 39.

utilized to maintain the idler .53 in a position to tighten the link chain ll Obviouslyymoving the bell crankM in a counterclockwise direction with respect to Fig. lwill loosen the link chain t! in the channel'42. It will be observed that the turntable rotates in a'clockwise direction with relates to mechanism for removing the hands and arms of the operator from between the relatively fixed and movable shoes of the ironers prior to closing movements thereof and after the operator has placed the garments to be pressed thereon. One important feature of this phase of my invention is embodied in a sweep in the nature of a paddle-shaped .arm- 41 which is secured .to'ran upright supporting bracket iBby means of a bifurcated extension 39, as indicated particularly in Fig. 3. The bifurcated extension 48 is pivoted at oneend to the supporting bracket i8, as indicated at 5B, for limited rocking movements in a vertical plane. At its outer end, the extension 49 is pivotally secured to the sweep 47, as indicated at 5| whereby ,to provideswinging movements of the sweep 'd'lin a horizontal plane. A portion of the bifurcated extension 49 extends beyond the pivot 5! to form a stop 52 which limits swinging movements of the sweep-M in onerdirection. A-torsion spring 53 biases the sweep 41 toward the out,

stretched position of Figs. .1, =2, .and :3, :inrwhich position the sweep 37 extends transverselyofthe track 9 and the path of travel-oftheironerselfl thereon. Rocking movements inonedirectionof the bifurcated extension 39. andthe sweepfflca ried thereby are limited by anadjustable stop in. the nature ofa screw .54 having screw-threaded engagement with abracket.55,.rigidly securedby welding or the like to the. supportingbracket 48 It will be seen, particularly by reference toFfig.v 2, that the upper end of thesupporting bracket.

is formed to provide an arm 5.6 to the outeriend. of which is secured the upper end of :a coilex- Spring .51 has .its lower end mit passage thereunder .ofia garmentplaced upon said shoe. However, .should the'hands of the. op.-

erator still be'between the shoes H and IZof'the ironer, they will, in all'likelihood, 'beremove'clbyf the sweep. However, inthe event that .the fingers or hands of the operator should passnnderthe sweep, then and'inthat event, they will'be.posi-. tively removed by'the mechanism now abo1iti.to'."' be disclosed. Flange B'is'in the naturelof an angle iron, the outturned bottom portion I 5916f which'provides an annular track from which a plurality of cam elements "65 (see Fig.'7')'.depend,'

one each immediately behind each of 'saidi'ironers.

A generally horizontally 'dispos'edlever BI is 10. pivotally secured to the bottom end of bracket 68, as indicated at .62, and is provided at itsouter end with a'cam'follower in'the'nature 'of'aroller 63. A rigid'butadjustable'link 64 'is'interposed between the intermediate portion of thelever fil and the bifurcated extension wfas indicated'a't 65and 56 (seeparticularlyFigs/2'an'df4).

Lateral movement of the *lever 26 l is prevented by a bifurcated guide-brackets! "secured'to'ithe ground or floor. 'It will be 'observedthatcoil spring 57 biases the roller 63 against the bottom' of the track 59 in the path of travel of the cam elements '60. Therefore, rotation *ofthe turntable l with the consequent engagement "of the "cam elementsbfl with the ro1ler'63 (immediately after the sweeps! has passed betweentheopenshoes" In this position, sthe [I and I2 of the ironers but immediately prior to the closing thereof) will impart positive movements to the sweep 4'! to move the same from the full line position of Fig. 2 to the dotted line position thereof. It will be observed that, in the latter position, the sweep has been moved downwardly to intersect the plane of the fixed shoes ll, whereby it-would strike the arm of the operator whose hand was still between the shoes H and l2. Consequent downward movement of the arm of the operator by the sweep would, of course, cause the operators hand or fingers likewise to be forced from between the pressing shoes. This downward movement of the sweep 41 is, of course, repeated as each ironer Ill reaches the identical position on the track 9.

If, for some unforeseen reason, the hands or arms or even the clothing of the operator should become clamped between the fixed and movable pressing shoes II and 12 during final closing movements thereof (in spite of the above-described action of the sweep 4?), then and in that event, as above indicated, I provide a still further precautionary or safety device, whereby the body of the operator, which will be tugged or dra ged forwardly by the ironer in which the operator has become entangled, will be caused to impinge upon mechanism including a control s itch for shutting off the electric motor 3?, thereby bringing to a stop all the pressing devices It. This mechanism includes a normally closed switch 58 mounted on a vertical supporting post 69 and engageable by an operating lever or arm 10. Preferably and as shown, the operating lever 70 comprises a vertically-disposed portion H, the upper end of which is secured to supporting post 69 at a point above the switch 68 and forwardly offset from the plane of the switch 68 (see particularly Fig. 6). The lower end of the vertical member TI is normally spaced from an operating switch button 72 of the switch 68 and is sufficiently resilient to engage the button 72 and operate the switch 68 when the lever 1B is flexed in the direction of movement of the ironers Hi. At its intermediate portion, lever 19 is provided with a horizontally-extended portion 13 which projects generally transversely of the path of travel of the ironers 19 in forwardly-spaced parallel relationship to the sweep 4?. Any portion of the operators body coming into contact with either the portions H or 13 will cause the lever to to flex sufficiently to actuate the switch 58. The switch 68 is shown in Fig. 9 as part of a holding circuit for a relay "M which, when energized, closes a circuit from a source of electrical power such as a power line 75 to the motor 31 through leads l6 and 17. A starting switch 68 is interposed in a lead 79 extending from lead to the coil of the relay 74. The switch 68 is interposed in a lead 88 extending from the opposite end of the relay coil to lead 71. The holding circuit for the relay M comprises the lead 8%) and switch 68, a lead 3| extending from the coil of the relay M to the lead 76, and holding contacts 82 in the relay 74. By this arrangement, it will be appreciated that when the switch 68 is opened, the relay 14 will become lie-energized and the circuit to the motor 37 will be opened whereby to quickly stop movement of the turntable I.

If, for any reason, the shoes H and i2 are caused to remain in a closed garment-pressing position when passing the operators station, rotary movement of the turntable I will bring said closed shoe 12 into direct contact with the sweep 41. When the sweep 41 is engaged by a shoe l2 in a closed position, the sweep 41 will be caused to swing on its pivot 5| against bias of the torsion spring 53 and allow the closed shoe I2 'to pass thereby. When the closed shoe l2 has gone beyond the sweep 41, bias of the spring 53 will cause the sweep to return to its normal position.

My invention has been thoroughly tested and I found to be completely adequate for the accomplishment of the objectives set forth; and while I have disclosed a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the same is capable of modification without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims. v 1 What I claim is: 1. In a device of the class described, a track,'a garment ironer mounted on the track for travelling movements past an operators station'adjacent thetrack, said ironer comprising upper and lower pressing shoes mounted for relative generally vertical movements between open' andclosed. positions, ironer operating mechanism automatically moving the ironer shoes to open position in advance of the operators station and closing the same after the ironer has moved away from the operators station, a non-traveling sweep extending transversely of the track and disposed between the vertically spaced planes of the working surfaces of adjacent ironer shoes when the latter are in their open positions, the sweep being located beyond the operators station but ahead of the point at which the ironer shoes are closed, said sweep being received between the cooperating ironer shoes when the latter are in their open positions and serving to intercept an operators hand and insure removal thereof from between the ironer shoes before closing of the ironer shoes.

2. In a device of the class described, a track, a garment ironer mounted on the track for travelling movements past an operators station adjacent the track, said ironer comprising upper and lower pressing shoes mounted for relative generally vertical movements between open and closed positions, ironer operating mechanism automatically moving the ironer shoes to open position in advance of the operators station and closing the same after the ironer has moved away from the operators station, a non-traveling sweep extending transversely of the track and disposed between the vertically spaced planes of the working surfaces of adjacent ironer shoes when the latter are in their open positions, the sweep being located beyond the operators station but ahead of the point at which the ironer shoes are closed, said sweep being normally received between the ironer shoes as the ironer is moved from the operators station, a pivotal mounting for the sweep allowing swinging movements thereof on a generally vertical axis from its normal operative position wherein it would intercept an ironer shoe if the ironer were moved thereby with its shoes in closed position to a position outside of the path of travel of the ironer shoes when moved thereby in closed position, stop means limiting swinging movements of the sweep in the direction in which it is moved to its operative position, and yielding means biasing the sweep in the direction of said stop.

3. In a device of the class described, a track, a garment ironer mounted on the track for travelling movements past an operators station adja-- cent the track, said ironer comprising upper and lower pressing shoes mounted for relative generally vertical movements between open and closed positions, ironer operating mechanism answer automatical ly moving theaironer shoes to open ahead :of :the'ipoint 'at which the ironer shoes :are

closed; said .sweep being ..norma1ly received between xzthe zironer shoes :as the ironer is moved from the operators station with the shoes :in open position, means mounting and. guiding'the sweepuionmove'ments in;,a generally vertical directionffmmeainormal zposition.:.above .the :plane of the working :surface; of :tthe :lower :ironer shoe when :thezironeriisfin zopen position zand; mechaa nism:automaticallyimoving'rthe:sweep in :a gen-- erally-ventical directionafrom andiback to its nor- 2,221,755

5-Number mal position after the ironeris moved beyond :the operators stationibut beforentheiironer shoesaare:

closed, said mechanism comprising relatively fixed and relatively- ;movab1e elements, T0116 imounte'd for traveling movements with "the ironer and the other thereof :being mounted adjacent the -track,:the said "element vwhich isn10untecl-adjacent the :track being located in. the path of travel of itssaid cooperating element.

, JOHN 1H. BEEF.

References Cited in the file of thispatent' UNITED STATES PATENTS Name "Date Kendrick Oct-23, 191? Tucker Mar."22, 1927 Carroll et al -'June5,"l928" JBraun Nov. 19, 1940 Davis oct.- 7 1930" 

